The terms of public service are the prerogative of the public. Fundamental among those terms; public servants are accountable to the public, and to meaningful standards of conduct and competence, at least for the eight measly hours a day that we have to "trust" them with the control over our power and our resources.

Friday, November 14, 2014

It was written by then NM FOG Executive Director Sarah Welsh on behalf of FOG in a letter to the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission. She was concerned that records the FOG had requested, results of a PRC employee ethics survey, had been redacted beyond usefulness.

She was expressing the position of the FOG that, when they asked for the results of a PRC employee ethics survey, the commission had redacted the records improperly.

We believe that for several surveys, the redaction was improper and/or overzealous and would not stand up under a court review.

Five years later, politicians and public servants still self-redact the record of their own public service. Five years later, there is still no penalty for politicians and public servants who zealously over-redact their records.

Every time a pol or public servant redacts their own record, they create the appearance of a conflict of interests and the appearance of impropriety.

I can't imagine why people writing public records law would even consider self-redaction.